Cicely Tyson Talks Being Eartha Kitt’s Understudy, Evolution Of Roles For Women, More

Cicely Tyson Talks Being Eartha Kitt's Understudy, Evolution Of Roles For Women, More

From TimesTalks: Leading Women of Broadway – a chat with 6 actresses discussing the craft of performing for theater, how roles written for women have evolved, and more.

Cicely Tyson, who just won a Tony Award for her performance in The Trip To Bountiful, is one of the 6, and she kicks off the conversation, relaying her earliest Broadway experience – being an understudy for Eartha Kitt! It feels like an entire world away; I’m sitting here just trying to grasp the thought of Cicely Tyson as Eartha Kitt’s understudy. Both legends!

Talk about a one-two punch! What would an equivalent pair look like in 2013?